Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Sells 3,100 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 67,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,100 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $6,226,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. XML Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 2,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. PSI Advisors LLC raised its stake in American Electric Power by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 1,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Garrison Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in American Electric Power by 0.6% in the third quarter. Garrison Asset Management LLC now owns 19,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,950,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Roanoke Asset Management Corp NY boosted its position in American Electric Power by 2.2% during the third quarter. Roanoke Asset Management Corp NY now owns 5,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $516,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First United Bank & Trust grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. First United Bank & Trust now owns 766 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Electric Power Trading Up 1.0 %

AEP opened at $101.88 on Wednesday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $76.31 and a fifty-two week high of $105.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.21 billion, a PE ratio of 20.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The company’s 50-day moving average is $95.16 and its 200 day moving average is $97.83.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Guggenheim upgraded American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on American Electric Power from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Scotiabank downgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.00.

American Electric Power Company Profile

American Electric Power Company, Inc, an electric public utility holding company, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity for sale to retail and wholesale customers in the United States. It operates through Vertically Integrated Utilities, Transmission and Distribution Utilities, AEP Transmission Holdco, and Generation & Marketing segments.